The Ghosts of Zeon
by Hagato
Summary: After a Earth Federation Patrol is destroyed, a joint EFSF and a Titan's Task Force to investigate. They soon discover that a dangerous Zeon Remnants base still exists. In this confrontation, lives will be lost and true colors will be shown.
1. Chapter 1

I'd though I'd try something new and start a U.C. Gundam fanficiton. This is my first attempt at writing a gundam fanficiton so some technical information might be wrong.

Note: I do not own Gundam. All credit for its creation goes to it respectful owners.

**

* * *

February 6, U.C. 0084 **

The empty vastness of space filled the visual sensors of the Magellan Kai Class, the Warhammer, and the two following Salamis Kai Class ships, the Thunder and the Gravway, as they lazily floated through space. These ships were sent on patrol around the furthest reaches of the Side 3 area. These ships were on there last mission before they were removed from service. Although these ships were relatively new, they were obsolete. The main flaw was that these ships lacked a Mobile Suit hanger. Since there introduction as weapons in the One Year War, Mobile Suit hangers were now a standard on warships. While mobile suits could be attached the hauls, space was limited. Then when the mobile suits need maintenance, they would be dragged into what used to be a space fighter hanger.

The engines of the Warhammer, Thunder, and Gravway shut off and fired alternate rockets to slow their forward motion. Suddenly, three RGM-79C GM Kai's came to life and propelled themselves from the Warhammer. The three GM Kai's took a formation with one in the lead and the other two trailing it on either side.

"Comet Team, you are to search to debris field and report back if you find anything." said the communication officer of the Warhammer.

"Roger that." replied Lieutenant Gage Rummor in the lead GM Kai. He made a quick check of his sensors before increasing his speed. His two wingmen followed suit. "Alright. Michal, David, you need to be careful. The floating debris can be very dangerous."

"But sir," piped up Ensign David. "The debris can't be that dangerous."

Lt. Gage chuckled at the rookie's naivety. "Listen kid, it can be very dangerous. It always that piece of junk you don't see that kills you. Also, it is a good place for an ambush in a combat situation. So just watch your selves, will yea?"

"Yes sir!" David and Michal replied in unison.

The three GM Kai's slowed as they approached the debris field. Back around late 0081 and early 0082, the Earth Federation had hired engineers to go up into place and move the various debris fields around the earth to allow for easier travel from earth to space. This work was done haphazardly, and resulted in the larger debris field being separated into small debris fields. It seemed that one of these debris fields had floated out this far.

The GM Kais proceeded slowly into the debris field. Most of the junk seemed to be from the One Year War. Lt. Gage slowly pushed the remnants of a GM. He saw that the cockpit was open. Lt. Gage got a quick look inside the cockpit and saw a frozen, bloody corpse of an Earth Federation pilot. Gage grimaced as the wrecked GM floated off into space.

"Attention Comet Team," came the voice of the Warhammer's communication officer over the radio. "We are detecting faint heat sources at 6 o'clock from your current position.....sugest….re…ver." The radio transmission became distorted.

"Sir, are we being jammed?" asked Ensign Michal.

"I'm not sure." Lt. Gage replied. He looked down at his sensors. Nothing else was being jammed. "It could be just the junk interfering with the radio signals. But be on your guard." David and Michal started to bunch together. David raised his GM Kai's 360mm hyper bazooka, and Michal raised his GM Kai's 90mm machine gun. "Michal! David! Don't be so close! Spread out and find some cover." Lt. Gage said calmly as he moved behind what looked like a piece of a Salamis bow section. David and Michal moved apart to find some cover.

Suddenly, red warning lights lit up Lt. Gage's cockpit. "Incoming!" he shouted. "Two heat sources! Michal! You've got a target lock on you! Evade!" Michal hesitated, and it cost him his life. Two pink beams hit Michal's GM Kai. One hit the GM Kai's left leg, and the second hit the GM Kai's backpack. Gage heard Michal's scream of pain before his GM Kai exploded. "No! Michal!" screamed Gage. David screamed in fear, and started fired his hyper bazooka wildly. "No! David stop! Don't waste your ammo!" Suddenly, a volley of bullets hit David's GM Kai. While his mobile suit wasn't damaged, the bullets hit the hyper bazooka. The resulting explosion of the hyper bazooka's ammo blasted off the GM Kai's arm, and head.

"Lt. Gage!" David shouted frantically. "Help me! I...." Before Lt. Gage could do anything, two missiles hit David's GM Kai and it exploded. But Lt. Gage got a quick look at the area where the missiles had come from. He saw a black MS-06F2 Zaku II. In those few seconds, Lt. Gage was able to fire his GM Kai's 90mm machine gun at the black Zaku II. The volley of bullets hit the black Zaku's leg, causing the missile pod attached to that leg to explode, which blasted off the bottom part of the leg.

"This is Lt. Gage calling Warhammer! This is Lt. Gage calling Warhammer! Do you copy?!" Lt. Gage shouted into the radio.

"This is the Warhammer to Lt. Gage. We read you, over." replied the Warhammer's communication officer.

"Warhammer. We have made contact with Zeon remnants! David and Michal are dead! I need backup now!" Lt. Gage shouted back.

"Copy the Lt. Gage." replied the Warhammer's communications officer. "We are sending Alpha Team.....AH!" The communication officer screamed and the single was lost.

"Warhamer, do you copy?! Warhammer, do you copy?!" Lt. Gage shouted. There was no answer. Only static. "Damn it!" shouted Lt. Gage. Turning his attention back to the Zaku II, he looked back at the area where he had seen it. Seeing nothing, Lt Gage moved to another large piece of junk. He searched for the Zaku again. Still seeing nothing, he moved to another piece of junk. He repeated this process until...

"Woo!" Lt. Gage yelled. He had come around a piece of junk and almost collided with a black Zaku II. It wasn't one he shot at earlier, it was a second one. Before the Zaku could do anything, Lt. Gage slammed his GM Kai's shield into the Zaku II. The Zaku II, temporally off balance, tried to fire its 120mm Zaku machine gun but the bullets flew harmlessly past Gage's GM Kai. Lt. Gage lowered his 90mm and fired a volley into the Zaku II's torso. Lt. Gage reversed his thrusters and flew away from the Zaku II as its nuclear reactor exploded.

Suddenly, the other black Zaku II appeared above him, Zaku machine gun blazing. Lt. Gage ducked behind a piece of junk. Reloading his 90mm machine gun, he flew out from behind the piece of junk. Holding the GM Kai's shield in front of him, Lt. Gage relied on his gun sights to hit the Zaku II. The volley slammed into the Zaku II, and it exploded. The red warning light lit his cockpit again. Lt. Gage was just barely able to evade the pink beam that shot towards him.

Lt. Gage turned his GM Kai in the direction that the beam had come from. Speeding towards him was a black MS-14 Gelgoog. Lt. Gage fired his 90mm machine gun at it. Then, it jammed. Throwing away the 90mm, Lt. Gage withdrew the GM Kai's beam saber, and charged the Gelgoog. Slashing out, Gage managed to clip the Gelgoog's beam gun, slicing it in half. The Gelgoog threw away the rest of the beam gun as it exploded and withdrew its twin beam sword. Gage threw away the GM Kai's shield and charged the Gelgoog again. The Gelgoog charged at him and they collided. The force of the impact and the beams hitting each other cause both mobile suits to bounce away from each other.

Lt. Gage charged the Gelgoog for a third time. This time, the Gelgoog just blocked its attack with its twin beam sword. Suddenly, the Gelgoog raised its left arm and place its left hand up to Gage's cockpit. Gage wondered what it was doing until he saw that a Vulcan gun was attached to its arm

"Oh shit." Lt. Gage said as the Gelgoog fired. The volley ripped threw the cockpit, killing Lt. Gage.

* * *

Back outside the debris field, the situation of the Earth Federation ships was becoming worse than desperate. While Comet Team was patrolling the debris field, three black Musai (late production type) class warships had ambushed the three ships. All three of the Musai's main guns had been aimed at the Warhammer, and 30 beams slammed into the Warhammer, causing its nuclear reactor to explode. The explosion killed everyone on the Warhammer, and destroyed what was left of its compliment of mobile suits. The Thunder and the Gravway and turned about to face the enemy, but they were hopelessly out gunned. The Musais had also launched about twelve mobile suits, and the two Salamis' had launched there mobile suits. They two Salamis' had a total of eight GM Kais, so they were being slaughtered.

Captain Kurt Reily of the Gravway watched helplessly as the Thunder was pummeled. The only reason why his ship was undamaged was because the Thunder was blocking the Musais aim. The only thing that his ship and the Thunder had accomplished was that they had knocked out a turret of the leading Musai.

"Communications Officer Lance Cantin, have you been able to contact the Federation garrison at side 3!?" Kurt shouted to a man at a control board.

"No sir!" came the man panicked reply. "The Minovsky particle density is too great!"

"Damn it!" shouted Captain Kurt.

"Captain! A mobile suit is approaching from the debris field!" shouted a radar man.

"Can you identify it?!" Kurt shouted back.

"Wait a moment sir," said the radar as he checked a computer. "Identity confirmed. It's a Gelgoog!"

Captain Kurt stared in horror as the black Gelgoog sped towards them. "All anti-aircraft guns focus on that black Gelgoog!" he shouted. The anti-aircraft guns on the top deck of his ship started to fire at the Gelgoog. The Gelgoog easily evaded their fire and proceed to destroy everyone one that was firing at it. "Everyone seal your suits! Quickly!" shouted Kurt as he sealed his helmet to his suit. The Gelgoog flew up to the bridge. Captain Kurt stared that the mono-eye of the Gelgoog until it cut the bridge up with its beam sword. The rush of air being sucked into space sucked Captain Kurt and anyone who was belted down, or holding onto something.

While floating through space, Captain Kurt watched as the Gelgoog move to the Gravway's engines and started to slice them up. The Gelgoog quickly as the engines started to explode. The resulting explosion destroyed the rear half of the Gravway, and incinerated Captain Kurt and everyone else who had been sucked out of the bridge.

The Gelgoog watched as the explosions subsided and the wreckage of the Gravway floated away. The Gelgoog pilot turned the Gelgoog over to where the Thunder was being pummeled. The Musais fired at the Thunder until the ship's nuclear reactor exploded. Lastly, the mobile suits from the Musais finished off what was left of the Thunder's and the Gravway's mobile suits. The pilot allowed the Gelgoog to float in space for a minute or so.

A black Rick Dom flew up to the Gelgoog. "Commander Avis Heimann, are you alright mam?" asked the Rick Dom's young pilot.

"Yes, I'm fine Ensign." she replied. She flew the Gelgoog over to the damaged Musai and hailed the captain. "Captain Tyrone Vowell, can you give me a damage report?"

"It was a lucky shot on their part." replied Captain Vowell in a British accent. "They took out on of our main guns. We have two injured but no fatalities. All mobile suits have reported in with the exception of the two that were with you."

"That's good." Commander Avis muttered to herself. "All units return to base for the debriefing."

"Yes mam!" replied Captain Vowell and the two other Musai captains. The three Musais turned about and flew back into the darkness of space with Commander Avis following behind them.


	2. Side 4

**February 10, U.C. 0084**

Three GM Quels sped through the space around side 4, originally side 5. The GM Quels flew in a standard triangular formation with one in front and two following on the sides. The GM Quels and their pilots belonged to the newly formed anti-terrorist group, the Titans. With their bodies painted black and their limbs painted a dark purple, they matched the color of the Titan's uniforms.

Ensign Javier Alvares in the lead GM Quel scanned his sensors, which were jammed. Because he was a rookie, he had not yet learned that any long-range sensors were rendered useless by Minovsky particles. Grumbling his annoyance, Javier searched his monitors. He saw nothing but space and the occasional piece of junk.

"Hey Javier, I can't raise Wrath Squad." said the pilot of the trailing GM Quel to his left. "Do you think they've been taken out?"

"No, of course they haven't Allan!" Javier snapped back. "We have the enemy outnumbered!"

"Hey Javier!" shouted the other GM Quel pilot, Cody Cajigas. "I caught some motion over at 9 o'clock!" Cody pointed with his GM Quel to a piece of junk up ahead.

"Alright. Cody, you go in on the left. Roger, you go in on the right. I'll go under the bottom." said Javier. Cody flew off to the left, and Roger flew off to the right. Javier was just starting to fly under the junk when…

"AHHH!" Roger shouted as a mobile suit shot out from behind the junk. Javier saw several red beams hit Roger's mobile suit, and it stopped moving.

"Damn it!" shouted Javier. Maneuvering his GM Quel fiercely, Javier sent his mobile suit chasing after the mobile suit. He fired several shots at the mobile suit, but it easily avoided them. The suit then made an abrupt turn and passed right passed Javier. In that moment, the GM Quel's computer managed to identify the mobile suit. It was a MS-14F Gelgoog Marine.

The Gelgoog Marine shot towards Cody's GM Quel. Cody screamed and started firing his gun wildly. The Gelgoog Marine didn't even have to avoid as it fired its gun at Cody, knocking out his GM Quel.

Javier saw the perfect moment to shoot down the Gelgoog Marine as its back was turned. He fired at it. To Javier's horror, the Gelgoog Marine flew upwards, and circled back towards him. Javier fired more shots at the Gelgoog Marine. The Gelgoog twirled and flipped as it dodged Javier's fire. Then it was on him! The Gelgoog Marine punched his GM Quel with its Knuckle Shield. The force of the impact caused his GM Quel to be forced backwards. Javier fought to regain control, but the Gelgoog Marine aimed its gun at his cockpit and fired.

Every monitor in Javier's GM Quel turned red. Then the word 'Defeat' scrolled across his main monitor. "Damn it!" Javier shouted again.

Inside the cockpit of the Gelgoog Marine, with was painted in Earth Federation colors, the pilot sighed. Commander Patrick Adorno, veteran of the One Year War, watched as the three GM Quels returned to a functioning state and as they then reformed into their squad.

"Man, and I thought the Wrath Squad guys were bad." he commented.

"Oh shut up, you damn spacenoid!" Javier shouted.

Patrick sighed again. "For your information, I was born on earth. Secondly, I'm writing you up when we get back."

Suddenly, the three GM Quels blasted away from Patrick. "Yeah, you do that." Javier shouted. Patrick could hear Roger and Cody snickering as the blasted back towards side 4. Patrick gently cruised his Gelgoog Marine back to side 4. Patrick maneuvered the Gelgoog Marine to the colony that held the Headquarters of EFSF garrison stationed there. It was one of the smaller colonies in side 4 and also one of the smallest. Since it was one of the most lightly populated colonies in side 4, the EFSF brass figured that it would be the best place to set up their headquarters. Patrick maneuvered the Gelgoog Marine to line up with the docking bay of the colony, which was guarded by three GM Kais.

"This is Commander Patrick Adorno in Aggressor Unit 437 requesting docking clearance." Patrick called over the radio to the colony.

"Acknowledged Commander Adorno." a female officer replied. "Proceed to Hanger 4 and dock there." Patrick already knew were to dock the Aggressor Units, but asking was just a mere formality. A large door with a large red 4 painted on it opened and Patrick flew the Gelgoog Marine into the hanger. He landed the Gelgoog Marine, and climbed out of the cockpit and pushed he self towards the floor. As so as he left the cockpit, a nearby mechanic climbed into the Gelgoog Marine and proceed to move it to the Mobile Suit hangers.

Patrick floated across the docking until he reached an elevator. He took the elevator up four decks before getting out. He then walked down a hallway and entered a briefing room at the end of the hallway. Inside the room, Javier, Roger, Cody, know was Storm Squad, and the three pilots of Wrath Squad were already seated. A Titans officer stood at the front of the room. The officer was Major Craig Stone, the highest ranking officer at side 4.

"Well," sneered Major Stone as Patrick entered the room. "Since Commander Adorno has been nice enough to join us, we can now start the debriefing. Commander Adorno, please make your report on the performances of Wrath and Storm Squads."

"Sir, Wrath and Storm squad have preformed very poorly in the training exercises, sir." Patrick said. "In the mock battles, I have defeated both squads single handed, sir."

Major Stone nodded. "Your report is duly noted, but since the Titans and the EFSF are separate units, your report means little to nothing." Major Stone stopped and waited for a reaction from Patrick. When none came he continued. "Furthermore, the Titans need all of the pilots they can get at the moment. Therefore, I am proud to announce that Wrath Squad and Storm Squad will become official squadrons of the Titans!" The members to Wrath and Strom squads cheered while Patrick said nothing. "In accordance to this Ensign Javier of Strom squad and Ensign Jackson of Wrath squad will be promoted to Lieutenant. So if you'll follow me, the rest of you are dismissed."

"Yes sir!" everyone said.

Patrick was the first out of the room. He need a drink and needed one badly. So he made a beeline straight for the Pilot's bar where is Mobile Suit Team was waiting for him. The Pilot's Bar was a floor above him so he had to take an elevator to the next floor. So after taking the elevator, he went down another hallway and entered the bar.

"Hey Commander!" shouted a man from a nearby table. The man had an extra drink at the table and motioned for Patrick to sit down. The man handed Patrick the drink once he sat at the table, which Patrick drank gratefully. The man was Ensign Richard Hays. He was Patrick's wingman who piloted a GM Custom. Including Patrick and Richard, six men made up the 24th EFSF Mobile Suit Team. Patrick looked around the room at his men. Ensigns Fred Malone, Roy Kline, and Eric Benn were playing cards with two men from the 15th EFSF Mobile Suit Team while Ensign Darren Wiers was talked to his girlfriend, Chief Petty Officer Roxie Stills of the hanger crew. Ensigns Fred Malone and Darren Wiers piloted GM Kais, while Roy Kline and Eric Benn piloted RGC-83 GM Cannon IIs.

"So how was the training?" asked Richard.

"Not good." replied Patrick. "They're awful, yet they still are being passed anyway. They wouldn't last one minute in an actual combat situation."

"Well, what are you going to do?" Richard said as he took a swig from his drink. "They're Titans. They don't know what they're doing."

Patrick took a sip from his drink. "They won't be much of an organization when they finally get to the battlefield. But still, they've got enough One Year War Veterans in their ranks to keep them limping along for awhile."

"And you were one of them yourself." Richard added with a chuckle. "You were what? The first one in, and the first one out?" Richard laughed.

"Excuse me, Commander Adorno?" Patrick looked up from his drink to see an aide standing next to the table. "Rear Admiral Stanton Berenschot wishes to see you and your team, sir."

Patrick and Richard stood up from the table. "Alright team, come on. Old Admiral Burnsides wants to see us." A common nickname of Rear Admiral Berenschot was Old Admiral Burnsides because of his huge sideburns that he had.

"Aw man, commander!" shouted Roy as he threw his cards on the table. "And I was winning too!" Eric laughed while Fred sighed with relief.

"Shit, I almost lost a month's pay." he said as he gathered up the cards. Darren gave his girlfriend as fleeting kiss as he got up.

"Come on, enough with the chitchat!" Patrick said. "You know what happens when you keep the Rear Admiral waiting." Patrick and his team marched out of the bar. Piling inside an elevator, they took it to the floor below them. They then marched to the Rear Admiral Berenschot's briefing room, which also served as his office.

When they entered, Rear Admiral Berenschot was sitting at his desk. Rear Admiral Berenschot was the commanding officer of EFSFs stationed at side 4. A veteran of the One Year War, he had been assigned to the garrison after the Delaz Incident. He looked up as Patrick and his team walked in. He gestured for them to set down, which they did.

"I'm glad you could come." Rear Admiral Berenschot stood up. The screen on the wall behind him lit up. A map of the area around side 3 appeared on the screen. "Four days ago, an EFSF patrol disappeared in this area." He pointed to an area close to the edge of the map. "The patrol consisted of a Magellan Kai and two Salamis Kai class ships."

"What? Those are still in service?" Roy said in astonishment.

"Yes, now shut up." said Rear Admiral Berenschot. "Admiral Puthoff wants to send a patrol to investigate the disappearance. Therefore I am sending three ships, the Hawk, the Juan, and the Graceland to investigate. Commander Patrick, you and your team will be assigned to the Graceland's mobile suit team." Rear Admiral Berenschot stopped as Patrick's team muttered amongst themselves. "The group will launch at 2100 hours."

Patrick looked at the clock on the wall. "But it's 5:00 pm. right now. That's not a lot of time to get our mobile suits loaded."

Rear Admiral Berenschot smiled. "I know it's not a lot of time, but we have two things to factor in. First off, your mobile suits have all ready been loaded onto the Graceland. Secondly, you are to group up with a detachment from the Titans at side 3. Also, the two Titans teams here are being transferred to the group your meeting up with."

"Why are we working with Titans?" Richard asked.

"Because most of them are new recruits and they need to be broken in." said Rear Admiral Berenschot. He began to hand out folders to Patrick and his team. "These are your transfer papers and other important documents. Now if you'll please report to the hanger, and get set up in your new ship."

"Yes sir!" said Patrick and his team as they saluted. An half an hour later Patrick and his team were down in the hanger, duffle bags swung over their shoulders. Patrick, at the lead of the group, walked up to a Warrant officer.

"Sir!" saluted the Warrant officer as Patrick approached.

"At ease." said Patrick. The man relaxed visibly. "I need to know where the Graceland is docked."

The Warrant officer looked down at a list he was holding. "The Graceland is docked in Dock C, sir."

"Thank you." replied Patrick. Dock C was on the other side of the hanger. So Patrick and his team made the perilous trip across the hanger. The hangers of a colony were dangerous because of all of the heavy machinery moving and being moved constantly. Then they had to go through a divider in the hanger that kept runaway ships from colliding into ships in other parts of the hanger. A Warrant officer stood at the door in the next section.

"Are you Commander Adorno, sir?" he asked. Patrick nodded. "Will, your ship is over there." And the man pointed to…

"A Pegasus class!" Patrick yelled in surprise. The rest of his team muttered in awe.

"Yes," continued the Warrant Officer. "The captain is waiting to meet you." Patrick and his team walked over to the Graceland's gangplank. There waiting for them was a young man. The man smiled and stuck his hand out of shaking.

"Hello Commander Adorno." he said in a cheery tone. "I am Nolan Kehew, Captain of the Graceland." Patrick shook the Captain Kehew's hand.

"If you don't mind my saying sir," said Patrick. "You look awfully young for a Captain."

Captain Kehew laughed. "Everyone says that. But I was at the top of my class. Anyway, let me show you to the hanger." Patrick and his team followed Captain Kehew into the ship. "Remind me to give you guys maps of the ships so you don't get lost." After a few minutes of walked throughout the ship, the group finally got to the hanger. Richard's GM Custom, Roy's and Eric's GM Cannon II's, Fred's and Darren's GM Kai's were already loaded. Patrick's GM Command Kai was being loaded.

"This will be the first time the Graceland will have a full compliment of mobile suits." Captain Kehew said as they watched the loading process.

Patrick turned to his team. "Alright guys, check your suits and make sure that they're combat ready."

"Yes sir!" they shouted. They all pushed themselves of the floor and floated towards their suits.

"Would you like to see the bridge, Commander Adorno?" Captain Kehew asked.

"Yes I would." replied Patrick. He followed Captain Kehew through the ship as he led him to the bridge. It looked the same as any other EFSF ship he had been on. The only difference was that the operator's seats and the captain's were elevated off the floor. "To be honest, I've never been on a Pegasus class ship before."

"Don't worry," chuckled Captain Kehew. "It'll get old after a while." Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, and the colony shook. "Devins!" Captain Kehew shouted to one of the operators. "What was that?!"

"There are three Musai Class ships outside the colony!" the man named Devins shouted back. "It's a raid, sir!" Even now, some Zeon remnants were still making hit and run attacks.

A screen bolted to the ceiling flicked on. "Captain Kehew, this is Rear Admiral Berenschot! Get out of the hanger, now! The Hawk and the Juan have already launched!"

"Yes sir!" Captain Kehew shouted as the screen flickered off.

"I'll go launch my mobile suits." Patrick said as he ran from the bridge. When he got to the hanger, his men were already in their mobile suits. Richard's GM Custom was being loaded onto the ship's catapult.

"No!" Patrick shouted as he ran to his own mobile suit. "They don't need to be launched off the catapult. They can just come out the side hatch." In the most of the Pegasus Class ships, two hatches were placed in the hanger. They were mostly used to launch mobile suits when the catapults were out of order. Patrick climbed into his GM Command Kai. Since he was closest to the hatch, he went out first. He blasted out of the colony into the blackness of space.

* * *

Note: The GM Command Kai is featured in the manga 'Char's Deleted Affair; Portrait of a Young Comet'. Since I've never read the manga, I know little about its technical information.


	3. The Warrior

The empty, calmness of space was broken as several beams blasted above Commander's Patrick's GM Command Kai. The three Musai Late Production Type class were a fair distance away from the colony. But they were close enough for mobile suits to reach them. The three Musais could only fire on the colony with the beam cannons on the bottom part of the bow because they were positioned above the dock entrance. But they were trying to reposition themselves. And they were launching missiles.

Although the introduction of the Minovsky particle had made homing missiles useless, they were still launched in large groups in the hope they would hit something. Patrick flew up to be level with the approaching missiles. He fired the Vulcan guns in his GM Command Kai's head. The explosions of the missiles that he did hit caused the surrounding missiles to explode. Patrick sighed in relief. While that trick did work, it was not something you would want to consistently risk your life on.

The rest of Patrick's team flew out of the hanger. Also the aggressor units, several GM Kai's and the Titan's GM Quels flew out of their respective hangers. The GM Kais, GM Quels and the Aggressor units form ed their separate groups and blasted towards to the Musais.

"Attention Commander Adorno, this is Captain Kehew." Patrick looked down at the hangers. The Graceland was moving out into space. The Hawk and the Juan, who had been waited outside the hangers, formed into a triangular formation. The Hawk and the Juan were the new model Salamis Kais. Although they were essentially heavily modified Salamis' they did have the capability of Mobile Suit combat. The bow was now one large catapult, and below it a hanger that could hold four mobile suits.

"The Graceland, Juan, and Hawk will be firing along the Alpha Tri line." Captain Kehew continued. "Please be sure to stay out of the line of fire."

Patrick nodded. "Understood, Captain. Roy and Eric will stay behind with the ships to provide support to the ships and long range support for use." Roy and Erci's GM Cannon IIs turned around and flew back to the Graceland. "Form up, everybody. We're going after the Musais." With Patrick's GM Command Kai in the lead, the rest of the team formed a diamond with Richard's GM Custom on the left, Darren's GM Kai on the right, and Fred in the rear. They blasted towards the Musais.

The GM Quels, GM Kais, and the Aggressor Unit were already at the Musais. They were also dog fighting with twelve MS-21C Dra-Cs. Of them all, the EFSF GM Kais were taking the worst of the beating. Of the fifteen that had been launched, only five were still combat fit. The GM Quels and the Aggressor Units were flying circles around the Musais, trying to hit weak spots in the ships armor.

"Split up team!" Patrick shouted. "Take the Dra-Cs before going after the Musais. Let Roy and Eric worry about them." Patrick blasted his GM Command Kai at a Dra-C as his team blasted towards other Dra-Cs. The Dra-C didn't see Patrick until the pink beam of GM Command Kai hit one of its shoulder pods, which exploded. The Dra-C was thrown back by the explosion and cart wheeled through space as Patrick fired a second shot, destroying the Dra-C.

Patrick then blasted the GM Command Kai in a back flip like motion to avoid a Dra-C that was speeding towards him. As the Dra-C flew past him, he aimed his beam gun at its engine and fire. The beam hit its nuclear reactor, causing a meltdown. Patrick couldn't believe his luck when the resulting explosion knocked out another Dra-C. Patrick scanned the area. Seeing no enemy mobile suits near him, he punched some coordinates into the mobile suit's computer.

"Eric, Roy, I sending you target coordinates." Patrick shouted over the radio.

"Copy sir," replied Roy. "Receiving coordinates now."

Warning lights lit up the cockpit. A Dra-C was fast approaching Patrick's GM Command Kai. The Dra-C fired its weapon. Since the Dra-C's main weapon was a Vulcan attached to its arm, the damage was minimal. Patrick moved his GM Command Kai out of the way of the Dra-C and fired a beam at is head, basting it off. He then fired two shots that blasted of the Dra-C's arms. Patrick yelped as he saw four pink beams speeding towards him, and moved out of the way. He watched as two of the pink beams hit the bridge of a Musai while the other two slammed into one of the engines.

Patrick made a quick scan of the area. Richard and Roy destroyed the last Dra-C. The other two Musais were speeding away while the third's reactor exploded. Two GM Kais were still functional, one of which was towing the torso of a third GM Kai. Two GM Quels had been shot down while a third was missing an arm. The aggressor units seemed all to be intact.

"24th MS Team, form up!" Patrick called over his radio. Richard's GM Custom flew down towards him, while Fred and Darren flew in from behind him. "Any damage?" He asked.

"I've got a glitch in my target computer sir." Fred said. "It lags behind by about two seconds, sir."

"I took a few hits from a Dra-C, but it's nothing serious sir." Darren said.

"I've got no damage, sir." Richard said.

"Alright, get your suit looked at Fred." Patrick said. "Now return to the Graceland for debriefing."

"Yes sir!" Richard, Fred, and Darren shouted. They flew back to the colony in the same diamond formation. The Graceland, Juan, and Hawk and formed into a standard triangle formation with the Graceland in the lead. The forward hatches were open which allowed Patrick, Richard, Fred, and Darren to land on the ship. Roy and Eric hand already landed.

Captain Kehew was waiting for Patrick in the hanger. "Good work, Commander Adorno. The stories I've heard are true then."

"It depends on what you've heard." Patrick said. He then turned to a nearby mechanic. "Hey you! Take a look at Ensign Fred Malone GM Kai's targeting computer. He says that it's lagging by a couple of seconds." The mechanic nodded in reply and pushed off towards Fred's GM Kai.

"Commander, could you please accompany me to the briefing room." Captain Kehew said. "You need to meet with the Mobile Suit Team Commanders from the Juan and Hawk."

"Yes sir." Patrick said.

Captain Kehew then turned to the rest of Patrick's team. "Attention pilots of the 24th MS Team, you're officially off duty until we run into the enemy." This brought a chorus of cheering from Patrick's team. He turned back to Patrick. "Now if you will please come with me." The Graceland's briefing room wasn't anything different from other briefing rooms he had been in. There were four rows of seats with a large television screen attached to the wall at the front. Sitting near the front were two people, a man and a woman. They both stood up and saluted.

"Commander Adorno," Captain Kehew said, gesturing to the two people. "Allow me to introduce Commanders Max Waechter and Serena Rollman." Patrick shook both of their hands. "Now that we all know each other, we can get down to business. Now you all know what are mission is, to investigate the disappearance of an EFSF patrol. I just received this piece of footage I'm about to show you. Merely an hour ago, they found the wreckage of one of the missing Salamis' and were able to recover a bit of footage from the Salamis' video recorders."

The screen came to life. There was no sound to the video. For the first few minutes, it showed the bridge crew and captain going about their regular activates. Suddenly, there was a large explosion. The Captain jumped from his seat and ran over to one of the windows. For a second or two, GM Kais were visible as they launched from the Salamis. Then after another few seconds, the ship's anti-aircraft guns opened fire. Then a black Gelgoog appeared and sliced open the bridge. The crew was sucked out into space and the footage went black.

"So they were attacked by Zeon remnants." Max said as the screen shut off. "Well, it explains why we are working with the Titans."

Captain Kehew nodded. "Yes. But by the way, Commander Adorno, I have a question for you. The overall Commander of the Titan's Mobile suit teams of the patrol we're hooking up with is a Major Iakisha Adorno. Is there any relationship?"

Patrick sunk low in his seat. Of all people, why did it have to be her? "Yes, she is my sister." Max and Serena shot surprised looks at Patrick. If Captain Kehew was surprised, he didn't show it. "Well, my half sister actually, but she's kind off disowned me though."

"Do you mean since the Delaz Incident?" asked Serena.

"A little bit after that actually." Patrick said, sinking lower into his seat. "Ever since I was kicked out of the Titans." He added.

"Oh, so you're the one that they tried to shot right?" asked Max. Patrick nodded. "If you don't mind my asking, what was that about?"

"Well, it's like this…."

* * *

**December 28, U.C. 0083**

Patrick looked at the colonies of side 3 out of a viewport. Patrick tided up his new, black uniform as he left his room. He had been assigned to a new task forced called the Titans. He was currently aboard the Alexandria Class war ship, the Domain. They were currently on a mission to root Zeon remnants out of one of side 3's colonies. Patrick made his way down to the Domain's mobile suit hanger. The ship could hold twelve mobile suits, while the two Salamis Kais that were accompanying them could hold four a piece.

The new GM Quels were lined up in rows along the side of the haul. The ship held four squads that consisted of three mobile suits. Patrick was a lieutenant and leader of this squad. Patrick couldn't really warm up to his new assignment. The Titans seemed a bit too cruel for his liking. In the rule book for the Titan's, he was supposed to shoot any Zeon on sight.

"Attention all mobile suit pilots, attention all mobile suit pilots. Man your mobile suits and launch immediately." a warrant officer called over the ship's intercom. Patrick sighed as he floated over to his mobile suit. He climbed into his mobile suit and waited for the rest of his team to show up. Ensigns Nolan Trad and Cliff Curles both arrived and climbed into their mobile suits.

"Alright, lets get started." Patrick said to them.

"Yes sir!" Nolan and Cliff shouted in reply. The hanger doors opened. Patrick and his team launched out towards the nearest colony. Suddenly, a GM Quel flew awfully close to Patrick.

"Nick!" he shouted. "What the hell are you doing!?" Lt. Nick Wellington was also a veteran of the One Year War. Patrick had known him back then, and the two had developed a rivalry.

"Just seeing if you're on your toes, Patty!" Nick sneered, as the rest of his team laughed. Even Patrick's team snickered. Patrick was not very popular in the Titans. The only reason he was even an officer was because he was one of the very few veterans in the Titans, espically since the Delaz Incident.

Nick's team flew back to its position behind Patrick's team. Since Patrick was the most experienced pilot there, his team was going in first. Patrick and the rest of them flew towards the colony's hangers.

"Attention colony 121! This is Lt. Patrick Adorno of the Titans." Patrick shouted over the radio. "Open your hangers and let us inspect your colony." Since it was an older colony, it only had one hanger. The door opened and the GM Quel's flew into the hanger.

"Lt. Ryan Bilgem and Lt. Daniel Bingaman, your teams inspect the hanger. The rest of us will move into the colony." Patrick ordered. Six GM Quels broke off from the group and moved into the hanger. Patrick and Nick's squads moved into the colony. The two squads flew through the center of the colony, where there was a 0-g area. "Any second now." Patrick muttered. He figured that if there were any Zeon soldiers here, they would soon panic and start firing at them.

Suddenly a volley of bullets flew straight forwards. Patrick, who the volley was aimed at, moved the GM Quel sideways and the bullets flew past him, and slammed straight into Nolan's GM Quel. The engine exploded, killing Nolan. "Oh shit…" Patrick muttered as he pushed the flaming wreckage away from the populated areas of the colony. Lt. Nick and his squad flew straight down to where the bullets came from.

Patrick followed them. Six Zaku II and two Rick Doms armed with zaku machineguns were firing at them. Lt. Nick and his squad had split up to avoid the volleys. Patrick aimed his GM Quel's beam gun at a Zaku and fired. The beam hit the top of the Zaku's head and sliced through the rest of the body, causing it to explode. The other five Zakus and the Rick Doms scattered. Lt. Nick fired his beam gun at a Zaku, and shot it through the cockpit.

Patrick looked over and saw Cliff engage a Zaku with his beam saber. For some reason, he had thrown away the GM Quel's beam gun. Nolan sliced downwards, slicing the Zaku's machinegun in half, then he thrust the beam saber into the Zaku's cockpit. Then, a second Zaku appeared from behind a build and fired a burst into Nolan' GM Quel.

"Damn it, no!" Patrick shouted as Nolan's GM Quel fell over sideways. The cockpit burst open to reveal that the inside was in flames. Patrick fired to beams at the Zaku, hitting the Zaku's arm and its torso. The Zaku exploded. "Damn it! We need to move out of the city!" Patrick shouted as he saw civilians running for cover.

Patrick turned to look for Lt. Nick's squad. He saw a GM Quel blast into the air, only to get hit by a volley that slammed into its cockpit. The GM Quel fell back to the ground with a loud crash. Patrick scanned the area. He and Nick were the only two GM Quels left, while the only two Zeon mobile suits left where the Rick Doms. Patrick moved towards the closest Rick Dom. He noticed him and charged, pulling out its heat rod. Patrick pulled out one of the GM Quel's beam sabers. The two sliced at each other at the same time. The beam saber and heat rode connected. The heat rode was cut in half. The momentum of the Rick Dom forced it into the beam saber, and it was sliced in half.

Patrick looked for the second Rick Dom. Both of its arms had been sliced off. Lt. Nick was standing over it, its beam gun pointed at the Rick Dom. The pilot had climbed out and was staring at Nick's GM Quel.

"But you can't fire!" Patrick heard the pilot shout. "It will cause the Rick Dom's nuclear reactor to explode!"

"I really don't care." Nick replied. "The more dead spacenoids the better."

"No!" Patrick shouted. He slammed his GM Quel into Nick's. The force of the collision caused both mobile suits to fall down. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" Patrick shouted.

"Get off of me!" Nick shouted.

"And let you murder innocent civilians? I don't think so!" Patrick shouted back.

"These are the traitors who started the One Year War!" Nick shouted back. "They deserve to die!" Suddenly, two missiles shot out of Nick's GM Quel's shield. Some pilots stored missiles launchers on the shields as a sort of last resort weapon. Patrick watched in horror as the missiles flew through the air and slammed into a school!

Patrick got his GM Quel off of Nick's and flew towards the school. He saw bloody children running away the building. He also saw parts of children and blood splattered all over everything close to the school. Patrick's whole body started to tremble. He turned to Nick, who had managed to get back up.

"Don't cry over that lot." Nick sneered. "They are better off dead anyway."

"Murder!" Patrick screamed. He fired his beam gun at Nick. The beam blasted of his GM Quel's arm. "Murder!" Patrick screamed again. He fired at the GM Quel again, this time blasting of its head. "Murder, murder, murder, MURDER!" Patrick screamed over and over again as he fired into Nick's GM Quel until his beam gun ran out of energy. The destroyed GM Quel fell to the ground.

"You basterd!" Patrick heard Nick yell. He was still alive. "I'll make sure the shoot your damn ass for this!"

* * *

"I was court marshaled soon after that." Patrick finished. "I'm still not sure who they got stopped from executing me. But I was dishonorable discharged from the Titans. And then I ended up at side 4."

"What happened to the Nick guy?" asked Serena.

Patrick shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that he was court marshaled for what he did."

Suddenly, a telephone on the wall beeped. Captain Kehew answered it. "Hello? Yes. Okay, I'll be up in a minute." He turned to Patrick, Serena, and Max. "Rear Admiral Berenschot wants us gone now, so we have to leave now. So if you will return to you ships," He said nodded to Serena and Max. "We can get underway."

"Yes sir!" replied Patrick, Serena, and Max. And they left the room.


	4. In the Depths of Space

**February 10, U.C. 0084**

An old Papua class supply ship floated through the mix of debris that floated around the area, occasionally changing course to avid large pieces of debris. The old Papua class was at its extreme fringes of its range. To complicate the matter, the ship was, in some sense of the word, was stolen. It needed to be back soon before it was missed. While the ship still had propellent, it would need it for the dash back to side 3. The Papua cut its engines and activated frontal thrusters to stop its forward movement.

The captain of the Papua placed the bridge nervously. His head constantly jerked his head up to look out the bridge's windows. "They're late. They were supposed to be here before us."

Suddenly, one of the ship's operators spoke up. "Captain, we're receiving a coded transmission."

The captain turned towards the operator. "Well, what does it say!?" he shouted.

The operator read off the message. "We've had engine troubles. Will be late to pick up point. Dump the supplies. We will pick them up."

The captain sighed. "Good. Order the hanger crew to dumb the supplies." In the hanger, the crews responsible for loading and unload the ship went into action. The Papuas could hold one Zaku I that would help load and unload the ship. This Papua's Zaku I was busy pushing three Zaku IIs out of the hanger. The rest of the hanger crew was tethering the rest of the cargo so that they would get too spread out. The Zaku I moved to the tethered cargo and proceeded to push it out of the hanger.

The captain of the Papua watched as the cargo floated off into space. Suddenly, a small light became visible off in the distant. A picture of the light appeared on a screen attached to the ceiling of the bridge. The camera zoomed in to show that the light was the engine of a black Papua with an escort of two black Musais. The captain sighed in relief.

"Captain, the hanger crew reports that they are done dumping the cargo." an operator said.

"Good. Helmsman, turn this ship around and lets get out of here." The Papua turned slowly around. Once it and turned completely around, the engines roared into life and the Papua blasted away back towards side 3. Black Zaku IIs flew out of the two Musais and collected the dumped cargo, and towed it to the Papua. The cargo was then loaded onto the Papua. The ships then turned and went the way they came.

An hour later, the three ships came upon a large space station disguised as a astroid. A thick screen of debris floated around the station, along with several small asteroids. A hanger door opened on the space station and the three ships flew in. It was a tight fit, since there was a third Musai docked there. The cargo from the Papua was quickly unloaded and was wheeled away.

A man in an uniform similar to an SS uniform of old Nazi Germany watched the unloading process. He watched the hanger crews floated around, moving various objects around the hanger. He sighed. He turned to his aid, which was a young woman. "Tell commander Avis and the captains to meet me in the briefing room in half an hour."

"Yes sir!" said the aid. She ran off into the bawls of the station. Commander Avis sat in her small room. She sipped from a coffee cup as she looked at an album she had. She flipped through the pages, looking a pictures of her family, all killed during the One Year War, and herself as a child. Near the end of the album, there where pictures of her and her fiance. She looked at pictures of the man who was to be her husband with tears in her eyes. She had met the man a year before the One Year War. The war had broke out a year before they were to be married. They both had lived on a colony that was gassed in the One Year War, but she was visiting friends on side 3. Since then, she was stuck at side 3 and conscripted into the Zeon army.

She jumped as someone knocked at the door. She opened the door to see an aid outside her room. "Admiral Ramsden requires your presence in the briefing room in half an hour."Avis nodded and the aid walked away. Avis drank the rest of her coffee and walked towards the briefing room.

The space station was one of the several testing facilities that the Zeon used during the war to test new weapons. This facility hadn't not been very important so few knew of its existence. Since it was the furthest from side 3, the space station, referred to as Loner Base, were not on any maps at side 3. At least, not any maps that had not been destroyed, at any rate. The base no weapons of its own, but had the three Musais, ten Zakus, four Rick Doms, two Gelgoogs, and three experiment machines. The briefing room was located at the top of Loner Base, while the living quarters were located at the bottom. So it took her some time to get there. When she reached the briefing room, Captains Vowell, Masterson, and Yoland of the three Musais were there. Also, Captain Dairway of Loner Base's defense force, and a newtype test subject man named Cole Sansome.

Admiral Ramsden, the man in the SS like uniform, was the over all commander of Loner Base. His aid had been standing in the corner of the room, and she was now moving towards th door. As she walked past Admiral Ramsden, he pattered her on the butt. Bushing bright red, the aid left the room. Avis felt sorry for the aid. Woman aids were always subjected to the weird fetishes of the officers.

"Now that Commander Heimann is here, we can begin." Admiral Ramsden said. "Now that the Earth Federation has formed the Titans, things are going to be a lot harder on us. The shipment of supplies that came from side 3 were the last that we will be receiving for a while. To compound the situation, the EFSF is not likely to miss a Magellan Kai and two Salamis Kais. Reports from spies and sympathizers lead us to suggest that the Earth Federation will soon launch a join EFSF and Titans force to investigate." He looked at them with a stern look on his face. "If they do discover us, I want you to make them pay for every inch of this damn piece of metal! My standing orders, if I die in battle, are to fight to the last man. Now I want you to check all of your weapons."

Avis and everyone else rose to their feet and saluted. "Yes Sir!"

Admiral Ramsden nodded. "Good. Your all dismissed." Avis was making her way to the door when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to see Cole Sansome standing there. She was always uncomfortable around Cole, because he rarely showed any emotion. "Dr. Mayland wants to see you." he said blandly.

"Right." She replied. She silently cursed as she walked towards Dr. Mayland's lab. Dr. Mayland was one of Zeon's leading scientists in the study of newtypes. Avis hated her. Avis hated Dr. Mayland's methods of testing for newtype potential, which caused very painful headaches. Then once she discovered newtype potential, she would constantly test them until their newtype powers awaken.

Dr. Mayland had said on several occasions that Avis was her 'favorite project'. Avis had shown newtype potential, so Dr. Mayland put her through rigorous testing to try and awaken her newtype powers which had all failed so far. Now she was starting a method that Avis hated most of all.

Avis walked into Dr. Mayland's lab. Dr. Mayland was bent over a diagram when she walked in. "Oh good, you're here Commander Avis. So now we can begin." Mayland gestured to a metal pod in the room. It had a glass visor that was opened up so a person could climb inside of it. Dr. Mayland pulled picked up a syringe from a table. "Please pull up your sleeve so I can administer the sedative." Avis pulled up her right sleeve and Dr. Mayland administered the shot. She then threw Avis a hospital gown a pointed to a changing room. "You can change in there."

Avis walked into the room, stripped naked, and changed into the hospital gown. She walked out of the room. Dr. Mayland was standing next to the metal pod. Avis walked over to the pod. She felt unsteady from the sedative. Avis climbed into the metal pod. "Now put this on." said Dr. Mayland as she handed Avis a headset that had several monitoring devices on it. Avis placed the devices on her head and laid down in the pod. Dr. Mayland closed the visor and activate the machine. A soothing humming sound start. Avis felt her eyelids grow heavy, and she slipped into the blackness of sleep.

* * *

Patrick was sitting in the cockpit of his GM Command Kai, checking to make sure that the suit's combat systems were functioning properly. He felt a twinge in the back of his mind, like a small headache. He rubbed the side of his head. It wasn't very painful, but was painful enough to attract his attention. Finishing the systems check, he climbed out of the GM Command Kai and floated over to the ledge on the hanger. Technicians were floating all over the place. Some were checking the mobile suits in the hanger, while overs were moving in and out of the ship to check the GM Quels that were attached to the Graceland's hull.

Richard was standing next to where he landed."Wake me up when we get to side 3." Richard nodded in reply. Patrick went to his room, changed into sleeping clothes, and went to sleep.

* * *


	5. In Transit

Patrick found himself floating. Patrick looked around at his surroundings. Bright lights were streaming by him. _"Are those stars?" _Patrick said out loud. His voiced echoed through out the empty void. Patrick became aware of another curious sensation. He couldn't quite explain the feeling. It was like the weightlessness he felt in a zero-g environment. He also noticed that his clothes were fluttering, as if there was a strong breeze. A realization dawned upon Patrick. His was not stationary while the environment around him was moving, but that he was moving while the environment around him was stationary.

The instant this realization dawned upon him, something begin to take shape front of him. Patrick strained his eyes to see what was forming in front of him. It was humanoid in shape, but Patrick couldn't make out what gender it was. Although, by its general shape Patrick guessed that it might have been a woman. Then a new feeling washed over Patrick. Patrick reached out to the figure in front of him, and he could have sworn that the figure reached back.

Then a sharp and tremendous pain shot through Patrick's head, ripping him from the dream. He rolled out of his bed and hit the floor. Patrick staged to his feet, clutching his head. He stumbled into his bathroom and threw up in the toilet. Patrick rummaged around in the medicine cabinet, found some aspirin, and took two pills. Patrick stood there, taking deep breaths. Eventually, the pain started to go away. He looked up into his mirror. He was pale and sweating bullets. "What the hell was that?"

* * *

Avis awoke to the familiar hissing sound and splitting headache that had become familiar to the process she was going through. She moaned as she was slowly dragged back to consciousness. She sat up as the glass visor lifted. Dr. Mayland was saying something as she sat at her computer.

"Good, this is good," she was saying. "I think you might have awaken!"

Avis had no idea what this meant. She sluggishly dragged herself into the changing room and changed back into her uniform. By now, the sedative was wearing off, but the pain from her headache remained however. When she stumbled out of the changing room, Dr. Mayland was still sitting at her computer, typing notes and observing several small charts.

"Excellent," Dr. Mayland said, as she printed out her report. "Admiral Ramsden will be please to hear we have another awakened newtype."

'_So thatfs what happened,_' Avis thought to herself. '_My newtype potential, whatever the heck that means, has awaken.f _Avis sighed inwardly. e_Just great, more testing.f_

As if to prove this, Dr. Mayland said, "You should get some rest Commander Avis. We have a lot of work to do."

"Whatever," Avis mumbled, clutching her head. She walked shakily out of the office. To her surprise, she found Cole outside waiting for her. He had an uncharacteristic smile on his face.

"I felt it," he said quietly. "You've awakened."

"Shut up Cole," Avis snapped. "I don't really care right now." She turned away from him and stumbled to her room. Avis, upon arriving at her room, immediately fell into her bed. She hating being a guinea pig for these experiments, but what chose did she have. Absolutely none, as a matter of fact, which was similar to when she had been drafted into the Zeon Armed Forces.

But there was one thing about today's test that intrigued her. While she was unconscious, she felt as if something was reaching out to her. She had reached back, only to find what ever it was just out of reach. Avis couldn't put her finger on it, but what ever it was that was reaching out to her had felt very familiar.

* * *

"There, all finished," the young mechanic said as he replaced a panel in the cockpit of Fred's GM Kai. Fred smiled in appreciation through the visor of his helmet. Everyone in the Graceland's mobile suit hanger was in suits, since the hanger was open to space. Since the Graceland was not only carrying the six mobile suits of the 24th EFSF mobile suit team, they were also carrying the six GM Quels that were to be transferred to the Titans group they were to join up with, and they needed maintenance too, and there was no room for them in the hanger. So the hanger had to stay open.

"What was the problem?" Fred asked.

"Just a minor hardware glitch," the mechanic said, moving past Fred. "It was an easy fix. Don't worry about it." Fred looked out into the hanger. It was very busy.

Most of the mechanics were rookies, so maintenance was taking longer than usually. All of the Graceland's mechanics were on deck, swarming over the GM Command Kai, GM Custom, the two GM Kai's, and the two GM Cannon IIs. Normally in a mobile suit hanger, accidents were abundant. On the three days they had been traveling, only one had occurred. A mechanic had been in the barrel of one of the cannons of Eric's GM Cannon II when another mechanic in the cockpit decided to test the ability of the cannon to change its angle. As a result, the mechanic was bounced around the barrel like peas in a frying pan. Fortunately, they only thing injured was the mechanic's pride.

Fred kicked off from his GM Kai and floated over to the gangway lining the hanger. One of the chief mechanics were standing were Fred landed. "I don't think we need you anymore," he said. "I think we can handle the maintenance ourselves now." Fred turned from the mechanic and floated himself towards the hatch that lead to the pressurized part of the ship. "By the way, the rest of your team is in the pilot's lounge!" the mechanic shouted.

"Thanks," Fred shouted back, before entering the small pressurization room. When the hanger was open to space, anyone who wanted to leave the hanger had to go through a pressurization room. Basically what happens is that when the airtight hatches are closed, atmosphere would be entered into the room, making things more comfortable for people in the pressurization room and anyone in the ship. After going through the pressurization room, Fred made his way to the pilot's lounge. Darren, Eric, Richard, and Roy were sitting around a table.

"Hey Fred," Darren shouted upon catching sight of Fred. "Sit down and have a drink!" Fred sat down at the table, and was handed a glass filled with a bright yellow drink.

"I thought we weren't allowed to drink on warships," Fred said, eyeing the drink nervously.

"Don't worry, this is a special drink they make for guys like us," Richard explained. "They have a great taste, and you won't get drunk on them because they have very little alcohol."

"Not like you could hold down much old-timer," Eric said with a laugh. It was joke among the men of the 24th EFSF mobile suit team to call Richard old-timer because a significant portion of Richard's light brown hair was gray. This was not due to age. Richard had been one of the unfortunates who had had to pilot a RB-79 ball in the One Year War, and the stress of it all had caused the premature graying.

"Have you ever considered dying it to its original color?" Roy asked.

"I have," Richard said, "but Karen sort of likes it, although my son teases me about it sometimes."

"Ah, to be married!" Fred said. "I'm a preferred bachelor myself. What about you guys?"

Darren smiled. "Roxie and I are getting married once our tours of duty are up."

"Well congratulations!" Richard said, refilling Darren's glass. "So when are you going to tie the knot?"

"If all goes according to plan, about sometime next January," Darren said, taking a large swig from his drink. "What about you, Eric?"

Eric, who was taking a drink, shrugged. "I'm still looking, but I don't have my hopes up."

"Why?" Roy asked.

"I don't know how you guys manage to find them, but I can't find a woman who wants to wait for an MS pilot," Eric moaned. "I've already had two girlfriends leave me this year!"

"Boy, that's bad," Richard said, giving Eric a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"What about you Roy?" Darren asked.

Roy sighed. "I had a wife. Her name was Jennifer. She was a good woman, kind, caring, and considerate."

"I notice you used 'had' and 'was'," Richard said. "What happened?"

"We just drifted apart," Roy said wistfully. "We don't hate each other or anything. We still see each other every so often, and I send her and the baby most of the money I make."

"Baby? So you have a kid?" Eric asked.

"Well, I going to," Roy said. "She only two months pregnant."

Darren gave him a confused look. "Wait, and how long have you two been separated?"

Roy blushed and looked down at the floor. "About a year."

At this point, Richard and Fred burst out laughing. Eric didn't react, and just took a sip from his drink. Darren gave Roy a look that was a mixture between shock and disgust. "You're still sleeping with her even though your devoiced?" Darren shouted.

"It's not like that, really!" Roy shouted, holding up his hands defensively. "I was on leave and I got the chance to visit her. She was in need of comforting because her father, who she was very close to, had just died. Then one night, we had too much to drink, and one thing lead to another, and….yeah." Richard and Fred were still laughing. Darren shook his head, and sighed.

Roy was desperate to change the subject. "What about the commander? Does he have a girl?"

Richard laughing stopped dead. His face hardened as he looked down at his drink. "Yeah, the commander did have a fiancé. Don't ask me what her name was, because the commander didn't tell me. But from what he did tell me, he met a girl when immigrated to Side 2. From what I've heard, they used to fight constantly but learned to like each other, eventually. He did propose to her in the end, but never got the chance to marry her."

"Why?" Eric asked.

"Because he got drafted into Earth Federation Forces shortly after he did," Richard said. "He got shipped off to earth for training that would take up a year. They set their wedding for January 3, UC 0079."

"What rotten timing!" Darren said, slapping his hand over his face.

"So then what happened to his fiancé?" Fred asked.

"Well, you know what happened," Richard said sadly. "The One Week Battle. 2.8 billion people killed when the colonies were nuked and gassed. I guess she was among those 2.8 billion."

"What do you mean by 'guess'?" Roy asked.

"Like I said, they lived on Side 2," Richard said. "On Island Iffish to be exact."

"Island Iffish!" Roy exclaimed. "You mean..."

"The colony they gassed and dropped on earth in Operation British," Richard finished. "Yes."

"So her body was incinerated then?" Darren asked.

"If she was on the colony," Richard said. "You see after the war, the commander hear a rumor that she had been at Side 3 visiting family when the war started. So when he got the chance, he went to Side 3 to see if he could find her. Unfortunately he hit a brick wall. The relatives had been killed during the war, and he could find any evidence that she had ever been there."

"So she's dead then," Eric said quietly. Richard nodded silently. There was a long, awkward, silence.

"Guys," Richard said. "Would you mind that mentioning this to anyone. It's a touchy subject, especially to the commander." They all nodded in agreement.

* * *

Captain Nolan Kehew sat in the captain's seat on the bridge, going over the mission file he had been given before they left Side 4. The crew around him sat silently at their stations, attending to their respective duties. They were three days into their trip, with two days left until they reached Side 3. Nolan looked down at the mission file, looking over all of the pages. Although he had been through it several times before, Nolan had nothing better to do and, more importantly, wanted to know every aspect of the mission.

It wasn't a long file. The first page was titled 'EFSP Personal and Material' in big bold letters. This list was the most familiar to Nolan. 'Ships of the EFSP 76th Patrol Group' the report continued. '1 Pegasus-class: Graceland. Skipper: Captain Nolan Kehew. Graceland mobile suit complement: 24th EFSP Mobile Suit Team (Commander: Patrick Adorno). 24th EFSF Mobile Team complement: 1-GM Command Kai, 1-GM Custom, 2-GM Kai, and 2-GM Cannon II.' Nolan sighed. Reading these things were boring, but it needed to be done. '2 Salamis Kai-class: Hawk, Juan. Hawk skipper: Captain Thomas McKalin. Juan skipper: Captain Jacob Paul. Hawk mobile suit complement: 109th Mobile Suit Team (Commander: Max Waechter). 109th Mobile Suit Team complement: 4-GM Kai. Juan mobile suit complement: 93rd Mobile Suit Team (Commander: Serena Rollman). 93rd Mobile Suit Team Complement: 4-GM Kai.' What then followed was technical data on the mobile suits and the ships.

The second page of the file was titled 'Titan Personal and Material.' Included in this were the men of Storm Squad and Wraith Squad, and even Major Craig Stone that they were bring with them from Side 4. As if on queue, the mobile suit of Wrath Squad flew by the bridge on maneuvers. 'Ships of the Titan Group #35,' Nolan read on. '1-Alexandria-class: Bismarck. Skipper: Rear Admiral Fredrick Matthias. Bismarck mobile suit complement: Alpha Squad (Commander: Iakisha Adorno), Rage Squad (Commander: Craig Stone), Storm Squad (Commander: Javier Alvares), Thunder Squad (Commander: Raymond Marks). Mobile suit complement: 4-GM Quel Command, 8-GM Quel. 2-Salamis Kai-class: Avon, Intrepid. Avon skipper: Captain Samuel Woodfin. Intrepid skipper: Jackson Ruthledge. Avon mobile suit complement: Wrath Squad (Commander: Jackson Noe). Wrath Squad mobile suit complement: 1-GM Quel Command, 3-GM Quel. Intrepid mobile suit complement: Striker Squad (Commander: Todd Velez). Striker Squad mobile suit complement: 1-GM Quel Command, 3-GM Quel.' Like on the last page, the report continued with technical data.

The third sheet was the shortest. It was labeled 'Possible Resistance.' 'As of the time of this report, current enemy strength is unknown. Based on information salvaged from the Gravway, expect to encounter at lest three Musai-class (late production type). Based on this, expect to encounter at least twelve mobile suits (one verified as a gelgoog).'

"Oh shit! Those idiots!" The shout brought Nolan out of his reading. The ship turned at a sharp angle as a GM Quel cairned past the bridge. The helmsman then leveled the ship.

"Report!" Nolan shouted.

"Apparently two members of Storm Squad tried something similar to a Split S maneuver and collided with each other," replied one of the operators sitting in the seats above him. "One of the pilots lost control and almost crashed into the bridge."

"Brilliant," Nolan muttered sarcastically. "Any damages?"

"The two GM Quels have both lost an arm," the operator said. "That's it, sir."

Nolan sighed. "Bring those idiots in, and get the mechanics working on the damaged Quels. Great, more paper work." Nolan growled his annoyance as he looked out into the vastness of space.

"I'm starting to not like them already, these Titan guys."

* * *

As far as I know, there is no such thing as a GM Quel Command in any Gundam media I'm aware of. As far as I know, it only exists in the fanficiton.


	6. Test Flight

February 17, UC 0084

Commander Avis walked the small halls of Loner Base. Every day Avis had to stay in this piece of junk she hated it even more. Before the war, she had been a pacifist. This made the fact that she had been drafted into a war she hated even more ironic. But it wasn't the fact she was forced to be a soldier that she hated most of all. It was Dr. Mayland and her experiments that she really hated. The constant experiments Dr. Mayland had been performing on her were driving her crazy: with the dizziness and the constant headaches. In fact, she was on her way to one of those experiments right now. The consolation was that it wasn't going to be one of the normal experiments. Today, it had to do with mobile suits. While Avis hated war, she had to admit she did love piloting mobile suits. Every time she climbed into the cockpit, she felt a strange tingling go up her spine in anticipation of what was to come. Then when she was actually flying, weaving and bobbing and doing other tricks, she found that for a moment she could forget her troubles until cold hard reality came crashing down again.

"Commander Avis," Avis' thoughts were interrupted by the voice and turned to the owner of the voice. It was a young man named Ethan, barely 19 years old. He was a newly commissioned ensign mobile suit pilot, probably the greenest pilot on Loner Base. He was standing at attention, holding a large, light grey normal suit. "Dr. Mayland wants you to put this on." He handed her the suit. It was heavy, and Avis noted with trepidation, lined with several thin machines that looked like sensors. Ethan saluted and hurried off.

Avis sighed as she continued her walked towards the hanger bay. Before she reached it, she stepped into one of the many changing rooms located near Loner Base's four hanger bays. After taking off her clothes and storing them in a locker, Avis slipped into the normal suit. It was heavier than the normal suit. She could feel the several sensors in the suit pressed against her skin, making her feel very uncomfortable. She then took a look at the helmet. It, like the suit, was lined with sensor like machines. She sighed, and put the helmet on, closing all of the seals. A few minutes later, Avis stepped into one of the two mobile suit hanger bays. Mobile suits lined the walls, with 5 Zaku IIs along the left wall, and Two Rick Doms along the right.

"Commander Avis!" Avis jumped to attention as Captain Dairway and Dr. Mayland walked over to her. Both were in normal suits, which was common in space bound mobile suit hangers. Avis saluted Captain Dairway, which was returned in kind. Dairway was one of the few officers on Loner Base that Avis didn't dislike. Captain Jacob Dairway was a tall, middle-aged man. He was the standard of a Zeon officer, but was unusually kind with his men, and not the honor bound, massacre happy ideologue that most Zeon officers had turned out to be.

"Commander Avis," Captain Dairway said. "Today you'll be making a test flight of the Zaku NT model." He pointed to the mobile suit currently being loaded onto the launching catapult. It was a Zaku type model suit, but it was taller, and slightly thinner than the average model. It was also more streamlined, not that it mattered out in the vacuum of space. It backpack was also bigger, giving it two extra boosters. "You'll be taking it through the normal runs," Captain Dairway continued, "after which you'll then face five Zaku IIs in a simulated battle. Dr. Mayland will accompany you to test your Newtype capability."

"You'll have to excuse me Captain," Dr. Mayland said, kicking off the deck towards the Zaku NT. "I have to make a few adjustments to the mobile suit's newtype systems."

Avis waited a moment for Dr. Mayland to be out of earshot. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted," Captain Dairway said with a nod.

"Why are we still even here?" Avis asked. "The war is over and has been over for four years. What's the point of being here?"

Captain Dairway sighed. "I share your sentiments on that matter. Unfortunately, most of the soldier's here don't. When they assigned Loner Base's crew, they chose die-hards who'd wok in any and all conditions if it advanced the ideals of Zeon. As to why we are still producing mobile suits," he gestured to the Zaku NT, "I don't know exactly. My best guess would be that they would be for our comrades at Axis." Axis was a large, carved out Asteroid that had been used as medium transport for Helium from Jupiter. Now it an orbit that placed it between Mars and Jupiter, it was the last bastion of the Principality of Zeon. While its situation was similar to that of Loner Base, they were in a much better position logistics wise.

"But what's the point of that?" Avis asked. "Axis doesn't have the material or the man power to start another war!"

Captain Dairway opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by an alarm. "Attention, Attention," came a voice over the intercom. "Mobile Suit launch in one minute. All personal please proceed to the airlock immediately." Dairway merely shrugged and kicked himself towards the nearest airlock while Avis kicked off towards the Zaku NT. Upon stepping into the Zaku NT Avis gasped. Instead of seeing the linear cockpit with the seat and controls in the middle with a monitor in front and two on the sides, she had stepping into a large sphere, with monitors all-round, with the pilots seat situated in the middle. Sitting in a seat bolted to the side of the pilot's seat sat Dr. Mayland smirking visibly.

"Do you like it Commander?" Dr. Mayland asked as she gestured at the 360-degree cockpit. "It's the newest technology, a 360 degree cockpit. It allows for a much greater visibility and greater combat efficiency."

"You can give me the details later," Avis said as she fastened the seals of her helmet and strapped herself into the pilot's seat. "Control, this is commander Avis," she said into her intercom. "Requesting launching clearance in the Zaku NT over."

"Commander Avis this is control," came the reply, "you are clear for takeoff."

"Roger," Avis replied again. She grabbed a hold of the controls and braked for the imminent g-forces that one experienced during takeoff. "Commander Avis Heimann, Zaku NT, launching!" Avis was pushed back into her seat as the Zaku NT lurched forward. The feeling didn't last long and a minute later she felt the weightlessness of space.

"The combat exercise will begin in five minutes," Dr. Mayland said from her seat. "You should familiarize yourself with the controls until then."

Avis growled in annoyance. _'How am I supposed to familiarize myself with a mobile suit in five minutes?' _ She sighted and kicked the Zaku NT into a dive. She then pulled out of the dive, did several barrel rolls, and brought the Zaku NT to a complete stop. She then proceeded to do several other tricks and maneuvers. During all of this, Avis began to notice something odd. While she was an experienced mobile suit pilot, it would usually take several hours of practice flights before she could completely familiarize herself with a mobile suit and its capabilities. But now, she was reaching this familiarization within minutes. With each maneuver she put the Zaku NT through; her understanding of the machine grew enormously. So that by the end the five minutes, she felt like she had actually been piloting the machine for hours, instead of minutes.

"Beginning combat situation now," Dr. Mayland said from her seat. Lights flashed, and several screens came up on the monitor as the weapons systems came online. It was a little disconcerting for Avis, considering she was more used to the linear style cockpit, but with this new 360 degree cockpit she was required to stare at the walls to view most of the monitor screens. She looked over the weapons systems to see what the Zaku NT was armed with. The Zaku NT was armed with a gelgoog beam rifle, two Vulcan guns mounted in the head, a beam saber, and a shield with an extra beam saber mounted in it. The fact that this Zaku model was capable of using beam sabers surprised Avis. Normally, they didn't bother to arm the old Zaku models with beam sabers, preferring to focus on giving that capability to the newer models. But there was no time to worry about that now, and Avis turned her mobile suit to face the approaching Zaku IIs.

The first three Zakus were out in front, coming in faster than the other two. The three Zakus, all armed with the standard 120mm machine guns, fell in a triangular formation. The other two Zakus, each armed with a 280mmA-P Zaku bazooka and a missile pod mounted on each of their legs, were hanging back. Avis smirked as she watched the Zakus moving towards her. She knew what they were planning, which was for the three Zakus to attack simultaneously for different directions while the last two fired on her from a distance. Her assessment was proven correct as the middle Zaku slowed down slightly, while the other two moved to position themselves above and below her. She tensed, ready to respond to the coming attack.

Then, another strange thing happened. Normally, she would quickly scan her monitors to confirm the positions of the attacks then start her evasive maneuvers. But here, she didn't do that. Instead, she _knew _where they were exactly and she _knew _when and where they were going to fire. She rolled the Zaku NT off its course, boosted into a hard reverse, blasting back and to the upper left. A split second late, the three Zaku's fired at the space where the Zaku NT had been but no longer was. In reality, all of the weapons the mobile suits were armed with would fire anything. However, the targeting computers were set to recognize that they were firing real ammunition and record and display it accordingly, and the computer systems in the mobile suits would register if the suits took hits and would shut down most of the mobile suit once a certain threshold was reached.

The three Zaku's were completely surprised by Avis's quick maneuvers. In fact, the whole thing had happened so fast that the three Zaku pilots barely realized what had happened. The realization came too slowly for one of the Zaku pilots, because as he was firing into empty space Avis had fired two shots at him. Her computer registered that the two shots hit the Zaku II and it stopped moving. Suddenly, Avis pulled her Zaku NT into a hard dive. She didn't quite realize why she had done it until she looked at her targeting computer which showed she had just dodged a barrage from the last two Zakus, which were still keeping their distance. She boosted into another rolled to avoid two volleys of machine gun fire as the first two Zakus, recovered from their initial shock, fired at her from above and below. She pushed her Zaku NT into another dive, speed past the Zaku below her. She put the Zaku NT into another roll, positioning the Zaku II above her between herself and the other Zaku II. The Zaku desperately tried to turn to face Avis, but she snapped off two shots into it the Zaku went dead. Then, she boosted the Zaku NT forward and in an arch that would put her in a position to attack that the third Zaku.

Then, it happened again. Somehow, the fact that if she came out from behind the Zaku from the top she would be shot to pieces by the other Zaku II appeared in her mind. So she changed course mid-arch. Instead of coming out from the top, she came out from the bottom. The Zaku, expecting the opposite, was caught completely off guard and the two shots Avis fired at it hit square in the torso, resulting the Zaku II's 'destruction'. The last two Zakus were easy pickings. Hampered by their heavy weaponry, all Avis had to do was dodge their initial volley, then place to place a shot in each suit's ammo pack, which she did.

"End simulation," Dr. Mayland said, typing commands into her panel. "One minute thirty-nine seconds, very good commander. Now, let us run a couple more mock engagements shall we?"

In all, they ran ten mock battles, Avis single handedly winning all ten of them. It wasn't until after she had brought the Zaku NT back to Loner Base that she could actually think about what had happened during the fight. She ran everything that had happened during the battle in her head as she changed into her regular uniform. She instinctually knew where each enemy mobile suit was and what they were going to do! The closes thing she could think to call it was mind reading, but it wasn't exactly like that. It was more like she reached some understanding of the capabilities of the mobile suits and of their pilots. She sighed as she rubbed her temples. The whole experience had given her a headache nearly as bad as the ones she got after Dr. Mayland's experiments.

"You feel it then." Avis turned to see Cole standing in the doorway of the dressing room. She gasped, grabbing a shirt to cover her still bare chest.

"Cole!" she shouted. "What the hell are you doing? This is the woman's changing room!"

Cole shrugged. "Don't change the subject." He turned away from Avis so she could change in some privacy. "However, you did feel it."

"Feel what?" Avis asked as she quickly changed into her uniform.

"An awareness greater than the one you had before," he replied. "It's like you could really get into things better than you could before. You become more aware of everyone and everything around. You can sense people's feelings and motives and predict their moves even before you make them."

"Something like that," Avis admitted as she straightened out the uniform she now wore. The headache she had was getting worse and she felt like she going to be sick. "I really don't want to talk right now. I just want to go to my room and sleep."

"Sure, whatever," Cole said, stepping to the side to let Avis pass. He watched her as she walked down the hallway until she turned a corner and disappeared from view. Cole let out a small chuckle. "This is going to get interesting."

* * *

Admiral Armin Ramsden sat in his office, reading the reports and dispatches that found their way to his desk daily. He sighed as he read them. Loner Base had an adequate amount of supplies to sustain itself. However, the Loner Base didn't have enough manpower or firepower to fight an effective resistance. Then there were the reports coming in from his spies and Zeon sympathizers. As he expected, the Federation was sending in forces to investigate the attacks on their patrols. According to the information in front of him, they were sending a joint task force made up of regular Federation forces and their new anti-terrorist unit called the Titans. If even half the information he had was true than he was in trouble, considering one of the ships, the Alexandria class ship, could carry more mobile suits than half of his entire compliment of mobile suits.

His thoughts were interrupted by his aide who had walked into the room. "Admiral Ramsden, you have coded transmission coming in on your private channel sir."

Ramsden give her a confused look. A coded message transmission, and on his private channel no less? Ramsden nodded and gave the aide a dismissive hand wave and she walked out. Ramsden pushed a few buttons on the side of his desk. A large portion of the desktop pulled back and a small computer rose up. It was true, someone was messaging him. He typed a few commands into the computer and a small screen popped up. The screen was black which led Ramsden to believe there a connection problem. He was proven wrong when the messenger began to speak.

"Admiral Armin Ramsden I presume?" The voice was soft and well spoken. He also sounded young, maybe around twenty-five to thirty.

"Who are you?" Ramsden said curtly.

"Forgive my lack of matters," the voice said sarcastically. "I am Captain Darius Menken of the _Griffin_."

"Never heard of you," Ramsden growled. "Look, unless you've got something relevant to say then get of this channel!"

"Ah, but I do," the voice replied. "But first I must remove your ignorance from the equation. First, I would be very surprised if you had heard of me for I was only promoted to captain a little while ago. Second, the _Griffin_ is a Musai class ship that is currently a part of the Axis fleet."

That caught Admiral Ramsden's attention. "Axis you say? Can you prove that?"

"I can when I arrive," Captain Menken said. "That should roughly be in about thirty hours." He paused for a moment. "That is, of course, you want to arrange a meeting. I'd like to know now if you're not interested so I don't have waste my time and be on my way. It's a long trip back to Axis you know."

"No, no," Ramsden said quickly. "I'm very interested in what you have to say."

"Good," Darius said. "In thirty hours then." The comm system clicked to the connection was cut. Ramsden sighed, leaning back into his chair. Things _were_ going to get interesting.

* * *

Wow. More than a year, and I've finally gotten around to updating this story. But then again, its been more than a year since I've update anything on this website. The reason for this, in short, involves school, a computer, my own laziness. I do wish to finish this story, really, and I hope I can do that sometime this _decade_. So here's to hoping I can.


End file.
